Grosvenor Terrace

Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, Bulletin Photographs

Grosvenor Terrace, photographed c 1985 from its western end looking east towards the top of Byres Road.

Designed by J T Rochead, the Venetian-style terrace was built with three equal superimposed storeys, Corinthian above Ionic above Doric. There are five bays in each unit. At the time of its completion in 1858, the terrace was described as "the finest range of buildings in Great Britain, being described after the most palatial style of architecture..."

The Grosvenor Hotel opened at Nos 1 and 2 at the eastern end of the terrace in 1938, in time for the opening of the Empire Exhibition. The Glasgow-Cypriot businessman Reo Stakis acquired seven neighbouring houses for the expansion of the hotel in the early 1970s. In 1978 it was destroyed in a spectacular fire during a strike by firefighters, but rebuilt using glass-reinforced concrete to recreate the original distinctive facade. The Grosvenor reopened in 1982. In the early 21st century it became part of the Hilton hotel chain, under the name of the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel.

Reference: Bulletin photographs, Box 1, Architecture

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning